


The Christmas Party

by malecstele



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas Party, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 16:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17145320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecstele/pseuds/malecstele
Summary: Sick and tired of his coworkers constantly remarking about he will never "settle down," Magnus tells them that he has been dating someone for awhile and will bring said person to the annual Christmas party. Now he needs someone to be his pretend date. Cue Alec, his best friend since college, he would definitely be willing to play along.And maybe, there has always been something there but neither of them have realized.





	The Christmas Party

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays to everyone! I hope you enjoy this little one-shot!

Magnus was scolding himself, how come he never thought before he spoke? He paced around his loft, thinking of what to do. Maybe he could say that something came up? He shook his head, no, they would surely know that he was bluffing. He should just come clean, who cared if he was single? No one should, it was his business and he had no problem with single life. Then again, it was his coworkers he was talking about, they were judgmental snobs, and there was nothing he wanted more than the show them up. 

Magnus looked at his phone as it lit up, it was his best friend, Alec. Alec was complaining about his new coworker, Aldertree, who according to Alec was, “total jackass.” Magnus had yet to meet this man, but honestly, he did not want to, he took Alec’s word for it. As he was about to reply, something stopped him. Could he ask Alec to do this for him? He knew that he would need a little convincing, but Alec would say yes eventually. What was the hurt in asking? He pressed dial and called him. 

“Hey, Magnus,” Alec said. “What’s up?”

“I need a favor.”

“Oh god, what is it?”

“Don’t be like that, Alexander!” Magnus laughed. “I really put myself in a pickle.”

“What did you do now?” Alec teased.

“Well, you know how that my office is having an annual Christmas party?”

“Yeah?”

“Well I sort of told them that I was bringing a date.”

“Okay? I’m sure you can find someone to go with, it’s not like you’ve eve had problems getting dates before.”

“Yeah…but I told them that I’ve been actually dating someone for a while.” 

Alec snorted, “Good going, how are you going to pull that off?”

“That’s why I was calling you,” Magnus said slowly. “I was wondering if you would be my pretend date.”

“Wait, you’re serious? Magnus how would expect us to pull this off? We’re not dating.”

“But we’ve been friends for such a long time, we can totally pull it off. It’ll only be for one evening, I’ll owe you big time.”

He heard Alec sigh, “Okay, I’ll come over and we can talk about it.”

“Thank you, Alexander! You’re really saving me here.”

“I bet,” Alec says sarcastically. “See you later, Magnus.”

“Bye.” He hung up the phone.

This was going to work, him and Alec had known each other since their first year in college. They met in their general psychology class. It was a huge lecture hall and Magnus didn’t know anyone there, so he decided to sit next to the attractive man near the back. He introduced himself and despite Alec being quiet and rather reserved, they became fast friends. Alec had stuck by his side during the worst moments of his life, including his whole relationship with Camille, who loved to manipulate Magnus on a daily basis. Alec was always there to pick him off the ground. Magnus couldn’t describe a better person than Alec. 

***

Alec shook his head to himself, he didn’t know why he always said yes to Magnus. He should know by now that Magnus’ ideas don’t always turn out the best, like that one time he convinced Alec to title his assignment file, “Stupid piece of shit,” and when Alec submitted it online, his professor saw the title and threw a fit. Secretly, Alec didn’t regret it, but he would never let Magnus have the satisfaction.  
However, this time, he wasn’t totally keen on the idea, sure he would love to see Magnus’ coworkers’ faces when Magnus proved them wrong. They were constantly telling him that he was the type of guy who would never “grow up” and “settle down.” Alec knew that it hurt Magnus more than he let on, he has tried to settle down with people, but it just never worked out. That was hardly Magnus’ fault. He knew that one day Magnus was going to find someone that was perfect for him, but for now, Alec supposed that it was okay if he pretended that that person was him. 

He arrives at Magnus’ loft, Magnus answers immediately, with a grin on his face. “Hello, darling.”

“Darling?”

“Well, if we’re going to be dating…” he jokes.

“You’re ridiculous,” Alec laughs. He goes right in and plops himself onto Magnus’ couch. “So, what’s the plan? How long is the party? What do I have to wear?”

“You’re surprisingly okay with this,” Magnus says as he hands Alec a beer, his favorite. 

Alec shrugs, “It’s only for one night. How bad can it be?”

“Trust me, you’ll hate me once you meet my coworkers, especially Lorenzo, he’s the bane of my existence, no pun intended.”

“Hopefully this will finally shut him up.”

“Doubt it,” Magnus takes a sip of his beer. “Anyways, it’s the twenty-second. Nothing too formal, but look nice. There’s going to be food and drinks, sometimes there’s dancing, depending on who’s organizing it. It’ll only be for a couple of hours and if you want to leave at any time you just have to tell me and we’ll go home.”

Alec nods, “So how did we meet?”

“Well, I was thinking that we didn’t really have to change much about ourselves besides that fact that we aren’t actually dating. That way we both don’t tell two different stories.”

“Okay, well how did we get together? Who made the first move? There’s going to be at least one person who asks us this.”

Magnus pauses, clearly thinking. “Maybe, I asked you do dance with me at the club the night we graduated and right then you realized you were in love with me.”

Alec couldn’t help but snort at that, “As if! You would totally be the one who realized that you loved me!”

Magnus’ eyebrows rose, “You would definitely be the one who realized that you loved me, you just couldn’t resist how I call you Alexander.”

Smiling, Alec replies, “Well, you do know that the only reason why I don’t mind you calling me that now is because I’ve gotten so used to it.”

“And that was when you realized you loved me.”

“God dammit, Magnus,” Alec laughs. “Fine! I’ll tell them I fell in love with you first!”

Magnus smirks, Alec couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“I’ll pick you up at six, the party is at seven. Be ready to make everyone jealous of us.”

***

On night of the party, Magnus arrives at Alec’s apartment right on time. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, maybe it was because he was about to lie to the people he saw daily? He shakes his head, he’s only doing this to make a point, it’ll be fine. 

Alec walks out with a smile. Magnus can’t help but notice how nice he looks. He wore a dark blue button-up, that hugged him around the chest and arms, but not so much so that it looked like he was wearing a shirt that was too small. He also had on some slacks that also complimented him. Magnus smiles to himself, feeling somewhat smug about how attractive his date was. There was no way his coworkers wouldn’t be jealous of him.

“I must say, Alexander, you look especially good tonight,” he told him as he opened to car door. 

“Thanks, I’m dressing to impress,” he winks. 

“Well, so far so good, considering I’m impressed.”

***

Alec couldn’t help but laugh as Magnus sang along to the cheesy Christmas music they were playing on the radio. He didn’t know that it was possible for someone to sing so deliberately out of tune. He couldn’t help but feel excited for the party, even though he was technically going to be lying the entire time. It had been a long time since he had spent time like this with his best friend. They have both been so busy lately. Being in this car with Magnus right now reminded Alec of when they were back in college, doing the most random things just because they were bored. Alec loved his life now, but sometimes he missed those days. 

When they arrive, Magnus turns to him, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he questions. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t fine with it.”

“Okay,” Magnus smiles softly. “Just promise me you’ll tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable.”

Alec nods. 

“Shall we?” Magnus gets out of the car. Alec follows. The party is in a conference room of Magnus’ building. Alec studies the inside once they walk in, he had never visited Magnus at work, so it was interesting to see where he spent his days. 

***

When they enter the room, he sees all of his coworkers, plus some people he has never seen before. It was probably everyone’s plus ones. 

“Magnus, you made it!” says his boss, Jonathan. He glances at Alec, “I see that you brought your boyfriend.”

“Alec,” Alec extends his hand. 

He takes it, “Nice to meet you, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if Magnus was the type of person who could ever stick to one person you know? It’s nice to see me proven wrong.”

“Obviously you don’t know Magnus that well then, because you would have known that he is a one soul at a time kind of guy.”

Magnus glances at Alec, he was staring sternly at his boss, almost in a challenging manner. 

Johnathan looked taken aback, “I didn’t mean to offend-.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you didn’t,” Alec interrupts with a fake smile on his face. “Now if you’ll excuse us, there’s some food over there that is beckoning me. Come on Magnus.”

Almost as soon as they reached the table, Alec was grabbing all the finger foods and putting them on a plate. Although his motions were seemingly calm, Magnus knew better. “Alexander, it’s fine. He’s like that with everyone.”

“But he shouldn’t, especially to you out of all people!”

Magnus felt his heart flutter a bit, he wasn’t used to people being this protective of him. “Thank you, Alexander, but don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Before Alec could reply, Magnus hears someone behind him. “Magnus Bane, nice to see you. It’s nice that you brought your friend along.” 

For a split second, Magnus was worried that Lorenzo had somehow figured out his lie, that was when he remembered how much of a dick that man was. “Alexander is my boyfriend, Lorenzo. The one I’ve told you about, who I’ve been with for years.”

Magnus felt a hand grab onto his arm. Alec pulls himself closer to Magnus, with a convincing smile on his face. 

“Nice to meet you, Alexander.”

“It’s Alec.”

“Alec,” Lorenzo amends.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I haven’t had to opportunity to meet the people who work for Magnus yet, so this is really nice.”

Magnus chokes back a laugh. 

Lorenzo looks at Alec incredulously, “Excuse me?”

“Well, Magnus is the manager of the office, therefore, he’s in charge.”

“He only got that position by default.”

Alec pretends to ignore this, “I’m just so happy for him. He’s such a great guy and I know that he’s a great higher-up.” Alec looks over to the left, “Oh, there’s someone I know over there, excuse us.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, Magnus starts laughing. “Oh my god, Alexander! Did you see his face? He was pissed!”

“I don’t know how you put up with that all day. I can barely stand it and it’s only been half an hour.”

“I usually have more fight in me that I do at the moment. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break and let you go after everyone.”

They made their way to the other end of the room, away from everyone. Alec wanted some peace and quiet for a bit, Magnus couldn’t blame him. 

***

“Magnus!” Alec hears.

“Hey, Dot!” Magnus says happily. Alec knew that he and Dot had a brief relationship many years ago before they graduated college. It didn’t take them too long to figure out that they weren’t right for each other. However, they still stayed close. 

“This must be that man of yours I’ve heard so much about.”

“Oh yes, you should have seen him piss Lorenzo off, it was wonderful.”

“I wish I was there to see it,” she extends her hand. Alec takes it and shakes it.

“Nice to meet you,“ he says. 

“You too. To be honest, Magnus has been quite quiet about your relationship until recently. I remember seeing you around campus, but I never would have thought, that you were the one for Magnus.”

Alec glances at Magnus, “What kind of things has he been saying about me?”

“Oh, you know, how you’re extremely attractive, have the biggest heart and that you’ve always been there for him.”

“Really, he said that?” Alec replies softly. He gives Magnus a quick look, he looks rather embarrassed, which was an odd look for Magnus. “He’s just exaggerating, I’m really not that special.”

“Nonsense! I’ve never heard Magnus talk about anyone that way before.”

Alec didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know why but what Dot said made him feel happy, he felt so warm inside and giddy. 

Dot grins, “You two are cute. It’s kind of funny I found you here.”

“Why’s that?” Magnus asks.

Dot points above their heads, there was a mistletoe hanging right above them. 

“Oh, that,” Magnus says. 

“Come on, don’t act all shy around me, Magnus.”

Magnus looks at Alec, silently asking for his permission. Alec nods slightly. His heart thumps in his chest and he doesn’t know why, maybe he was nervous. Magnus pressed his lips to Alec’s cheek. He lingers for a second before pulling away. Alec can’t help but crave more. Shit, he thinks to himself. No, I don’t really like him like that. He’s my best friend. Still, Alec can’t shake that feeling. 

Dot gives an exasperated sigh, “Fine, I’ll take that.”

***

When Dot leaves, Magnus talks a little with Alec before excusing himself. He goes into the bathroom and leans over the counter. All night he had this feeling that he couldn’t get put his finger on, but once he kissed Alec, he knew exactly what it meant. He had feelings for his best friend. What made it worse was that he wasn’t exactly surprised, he has always adored Alec, even when they first met. Alec was perfect in every way. Magnus has always known that he has a soft spot for him. He guesses that it would have manifested eventually, and he knew that that time was now.  
When he rejoins Alec, he cannot help but notice that Alec is a bit out of it. It appears as if he were thinking about something. 

“You okay? You seem a bit out of it.”

“I’m fine, I was just thinking about Izzy’s present, it hasn’t arrived yet and I’m worried that it won’t come in time.”

Magnus didn’t buy it. 

***

Pushing his feelings to the back of his mind, Alec manages to have some more fun. Not all of Magnus’ coworkers were unpleasant, so it was nice to talk to them. They kept saying that they needed to invite him to the next office get together. Alec starts to wonder if he would have to keep pretending for a lot longer than originally planned. Everyone said they were perfect for each other; wouldn’t it seem odd if they were to break up right after the party?

Some soft and slow music starts playing, the couple all go off to dance. Alec knows that they looked out of place, just standing there all by themselves. “We should probably…it looks weird otherwise,” he says.

Magnus doesn’t say anything, he just holds out his hand and leads Alec to join everyone. Alec couldn’t help but feel nervous as he felt Magnus’s arms go around his waist. He wraps his arms around 

Magnus’ neck. They start to slowly sway back and forth, Magnus was keeping them on beat, due to his background in dancing. 

“How are you?” Magnus whispers. “Are you hating it?”

“No, it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, actually…it’s nice spending time with you.”

Magnus stares at him, and he returns it. There was something in his eyes, Alec couldn’t figure out what it was but he knew it wasn’t a bad thing. Not be able to help himself, he looks at Magnus’ lips, wanting so badly to kiss them. He couldn’t stop imagining it since Magnus kissed his cheek. Before he knew it, he was leaning forward. 

Magnus didn’t react, he didn’t move away or lean in. However, he did part his lips, still staring intently at him. Alec eventually gives in and kisses him. Even though the kiss wasn’t particularly long, or passionate, it still was somehow the best kiss Alec had ever had in his life. However, this triumphant feeling didn’t last long. He quickly pulls away, realizing what he had just done and moved to leave. Magnus’ arms tightened around him, making it so he couldn’t leave.

“Alexander,” Magnus said softly. “Look at me.”

Alec looked at him and saw nothing but adoration in his eyes. Magnus leans forward and kisses him again. Alec was slightly in shock for a split second, he didn’t expect Magnus to kiss him again. However, he quickly got over the initial shock of it and deepened the kiss. Magnus hummed approvingly against his lips. 

When they eventually pulled away from one another, Magnus asks him, “How long?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Magnus laughs, “Me too.” He kisses him again. 

Alec rests his head against Magnus’ shoulder as they continued to dance. He felt so safe in Magnus’ arms. There was no place he would rather be.

***

Magnus was so focused on Alec that he didn’t notice his coworkers looking at them, remarking how cute they were. He wanted to hold onto Alec forever. He smiles to himself, to think that this never would have happened if he had just come clean on his relationship status. Although he was dreading this Christmas party, it turned out to be the best one he has ever gone to.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Send me prompt, message or whatever on my tumblr (malecstele)
> 
> Remember #saveshadowhunters


End file.
